Ant-Man and the Wasp Trailer Breakdown

With the first trailer for the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp recently released, we thought it’d be a good idea to give you a full rundown on everything we learnt from the trailer.

Hey Digital Fox readers! I’m back again for a brand new year of articles, reviews, commentaries, memes, analyses, and so much more! There’s so much to look forward towards this year (Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Incredibles II, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Ready Player One, Fantastic Beasts 2, Deadpool 2, Annihilation, Venom, The New Mutants, Solo (actually maybe not so much), Hellboy, Tomb Raider, Aquaman, and Mortal Engines) and if you aren’t frothing yet then you are clearly on the wrong site. And if you hadn’t guessed already, today I’m going to be providing the Ant-Man and the Wasp trailer breakdown!

In case you didn’t know, the first trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp was released this week. And in case you hadn’t seen it, I’m embedding the trailer just below, so you can bask in its glory. Also, in case you have seen it, watch it again! Get aboard that hype train!

Obviously this trailer will be dealing with spoilers from Captain America: Civil War, and the comics, so you’ve been warned! Oh as well as the 2015’s Ant-Man. You’ve been warned okay!?!?

Opening the Ant-Man and the Wasp trailer

I already love the dynamic between these two. Source: Marvel Studios

Before we really start, I thought it’d be good to look at the official synopsis for Ant-Man and the Wasp.

In the aftermath of ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ Scott Lang grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a Super Hero and a father. As he struggles to re-balance his home life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside The Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from their past.

Thanks Disney! We’ll be returning to your vague but helpful synopsis later on!

The Ant-Man and the Wasp trailer begins with your classic super-hero narration. Cutting in between sequences of Captain America: Civil War we hear Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) presumably ask Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lily): “I just have one question. When Cap needed help. If I’d asked you, would you’ve come?” To which Hope replies, “I guess we’ll never know… but if you had, you’d never have been caught.”

Now this brief interaction, paired with the synopsis, provides a lot of weight to the film’s introduction. Scott’s question, and the serious tone which is usually absent from our playful protagonist, almost paints the picture that he is suffering real consequences from his actions in Civil War. Those being that he aided a fugitive of the law (Captain America). But his asking implies that Hope seems to be free of any punishments that Scott is paying.

Scott’s question therefore provides an indication of past events, as well as potential plot points. Obviously we can tell that he’s facing punishment from the law… again. But we can also understand that Scott wants Hope’s trust. Asking her, knowing how things went, if she would have faced the consequences that Scott is presently facing, is a plea. Scott has to know how far he can trust her.

But with Hope’s nonchalant, witty, even smirkish reply, we can understand that yes, Scott can indeed trust Hope.

But why would Scott need to trust Hope?

Pay attention to how often Hope will give Scott this face during the film. Source: Marvel Studios

At the end of 2015’s Ant-Man, they seemed to have the set-up for a strong relationship. I think the key is found back in the synopsis. I want you to have a look at this line again: “As he struggles to re-balance his home life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted… with an urgent new mission.”

I believe that one consequence from the events of Civil War, is that he’s been put under surveillance by some governmental body. Additionally, I believe that Scott’s been put in the position where if he steps one foot out of line, he’ll be put back in prison. And of course, Scott doesn’t want to be separated from Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson) again. So that’s why he’s looking back to Hope, trusting that nothing bad will happen to him, and in turn, Cassie.

The people Scott Lang loves

WE MUST PRESERVE CASSIE’S INNOCENCE AT ALL COST. Source: Marvel Studios.

What we see next is a view of San Francisco pier, Scott receiving his ‘tracker’, his house being searched, followed by zooming in shots of Cassie, and Hope. Over these images we get even more narration! Scott says: “I do some dumb things, and the people I love the most, they pay the price.”

Scott’s house being searched and Scott being pegged with a tracker are probably direct or indirect consequences from Civil War. So there lays the possibility that after his escape from ‘The Raft’ in Civil War, he may have been found by the government. Following this he makes an agreement with governmental organisation X, who will monitor him as an assurance. And may or may not force him to sign the Sokovia Accords.

Now something interesting to note is which characters are focused on when Scott references “…the people I love most…”. The first is Scott’s daughter Cassie, and the second is Hope. And with the close up focusing more on Hope than Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), you can be pretty damn sure they’re going to be focusing on THAT relationship. But that was already set up from 2015’s Ant-Man so…

Running of the Ant-Man and the Wasp

I guess you could say… she’s a Blade Runner *takes off sunnies* Source: Marvel Studios.

From there we see several cuts of the FBI closing in on Hank and Hope in a field. Followed immediately by Hank shrinking a building to a lovely suitcase. But what I want to know though, is did the building always have wheels under its base?

And then we see several quick cuts of some kind of ship, Hank, Hope, a lab, most presumably the villain Ghost, Morpheu- I mean Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne), and a shrinking sequence.

Underpinning this sequence is Hope narrating, “Thanks to you, we had to run. We’re still running.” And I believe that this line reaffirms the speculation in the previous line of narration. That being that anyone close to Scott has to pay the consequences (being hunted by the FBI) of his dumb actions.

But what I think a lot of viewers really want to know is: Firstly, who’s Morpheus’ character? And secondly, who the hell is Ghost?

Who are Goliath and Ghost?

This is just Ghost. Not Morpheus. Source: Marvel Studios.

Laurence Fishburne’s character Bill Foster, better known as Goliath, can be considered Hank Pym’s original successor. First appearing in 1966 in Avengers #32, Bill worked as a biochemist with Hank, who as we know made a formula to change his size. Bill had memorised Hanks “Pym Particle” formula and was able to replicate it successfully. Testing on himself, he was able to change his size, and grow (pun intended) into the superhero Goliath!

Now as far as how much the film will stay true to Bill’s origins is up to question. He may be just a biochemist who’s worked with Hank in the past, and may still be working with him. Or he could have been a ‘silver-age’ hero alongside Hank and his wife Janet. I guess we’ll never know… until we get another trailer.

Now Ghost officially appeared in Marvel Comics in Iron Man #219 in 1987. And in regards to Ghost’s origins (which we have to take with a handful of salt) we know that he was originally a promising data engineer for a computer corporation. There he created the computer chip known as ‘GhostTech’, which has the ability to phase into an intangible state. The executives of this company abused his productivity, prompting him to work harder by paying for sporting tickets, and even convinced an employee of his to act as a ‘call-girl’ of sorts.

However when the project was completed, the executives had Ghost’s lover taken out after she threatened to unveil their duplicity. This lead to Ghost entering a deep depression, imbuing his body with ‘GhostTech’. This in turn allowed him to phase through objects and become invisible – hence Ghost. Shortly afterwards, he discovered the truth behind his lover’s murder, and began to eliminate his former employers following a failed assassination.

In Ant-Man and the Wasp, Ghost will be played by Hannah John-Kamen.

Wrapping up because this has gone on for WAYYYYY too long

I guess you could say this has been a GIANT of an article. I’ll just see myself out. Source: Marvel Studios.

The rest of the trailer shows us some captivating sequences, which while visually entertaining, doubtfully add much to the plot. We see a car chase through San-Francisco’s infamously steep streets, in what could possibly be the ‘Ant Van’. We then move on to Scott growing into his giant form in the San Francisco harbour, with a terrified Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) shrinking behind the building suitcase we saw earlier.

Next, we see a quick still of Ghost, followed by what definitely is a ‘Hot-Wheel’! If you ever watched Saturday Disney on Channel 7 (sorry for our non-Aussie fans), then you know what I’m talking about!

We move onto a still of cops, then Luis (Michael Pena) running away from a pier (did you notice the ‘Hot-Wheel’ was parked in the background?) Scott and Hope in a close encounter, the ship we saw earlier flying next to some amoeba looking microorganisms, with some final wisdom from Cassie.

“Maybe you just need someone watching your back. Like a partner.” Cassie says with her angelic eyes beaming. This imagery is quickly followed by Hope van Dyne succinctly taking out your generic Henchman with utter finesse.

Also, I’d like to take a minute to just say, if you haven’t already, y’all should read Allan Heinberg’s ‘Young Avengers’. There we see a teenage Cassie Lang as Ant-Girl, and it is literally the only reason why I lose my bloody mind when I see Cassie on screen.

We conclude the trailer with some comedy between Scott and Hank, and something I never knew I wanted till I saw it, a giant Hello Kitty dispenser.

So, what did you all think of our Ant-Man and the Wasp trailer breakdown? If you have any questions, leave them down in the comments below, or tweet me @ElliMiller17.